Tonic Xmas Party 2008

We couldn’t let the holidays come and go without having a Tonic Xmas Party.  This year we opted for an evening of fondue at The Melting Pot, which was a new experience for many of us.  In case you’re in the same boat, picture a night full of melted cheesy concoctions, steaming meats, and decadent chocolate.  It was delicious!

For our gift exchange we each had to bring our favorite dvd and a cd of favorite songs from high school. We took the White Elephant route and things got pretty heated, but all in all everyone walked home with some premium items.

Tonic’s 2nd Annual "Christmas for a Cause"

You may remember from last December our designers get very competitive around this time in anticipation of our annual T-shirt design contest.  Well, this year was no different.  We came up with 6 designs for clients, partners, and friends to vote on.  The winning design was courtesy of Nathan Rhoads who created the shirt below:

Thanks to all our voters we were able to make a very special Christmas for a local Thousand Oaks family.  We first received word of the Peralta family through St. Maximillian Kolbe Church.  It was very hard not to fall in love the Peralta’s and we felt so great to be able to help them out.  We bought lots of fun toys for their 5 year old son and gave them an Albertson’s gift card to help out with groceries. All of the Tonic team has agreed its better to give than to receive and we are already looking forward to next year’s event.

TYPE AS AN IMAGE TO THE SOUL

“S&S” Letterforms represent concept of marriage
Type patterns, framed art prints, Designer: Shawn Randall

(click on image for larger view of all three)

Recently I was asked to submit work for a local gallery show. My wife and I are coming up on our 8th wedding anniversary and so I decided to focus on the concept of Marraige in this triptic piece entitled “S&S”.

Each piece is framed in a solid wood black frame and was printed on a fine art velvet paper. The two smaller pieces measure 15 inches square and the center piece measures approx. 23 inches square.

Each piece was created from a single letter/symbol: S, &, S (Mine and my wife’s initials with an “&” in the middle). The letter was repeated, rotated, mirrored and composed by hand. Each piece has a short description of its content as well as of its concept:

(Read More…)

Thoughts on Tufte

I guess this is better late than never! Just over a month ago I had the opportunity to attend “Presenting Data and Information: A One-Day Course Taught By Edward Tufte.”

I absorbed a lot in this one day course and came back excited to apply some of these techniques into some of the different applications in which we present data and information here at TONIC.

I was lucky enough to pick up a print of a statistical graph poster of Napoleon’s march to Moscow. As described on Tufte’s website: “Probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn, this map by Charles Joseph Minard portrays the losses suffered by Napoleon’s army in the Russian campaign of 1812. Beginning at the Polish-Russian border, the thick band shows the size of the army at each position. The path of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow in the bitterly cold winter is depicted by the dark lower band, which is tied to temperature and time scales.

I also jumped at some signed press sheets from some of Edward’s books. Check them out below:

-g

Designer Must Haves…….

Here are a few cool things we love at Tonic.

Moleskine Journals

It is two centuries now that moleskine has been the legendary notebook of European artists and intellectuals, from Van Gogh to Henri Matisse, from the exponents of the historical avant-garde movements to Ernest Hemingway.

They now have a new soft cover.

Alphabet Paperclips by Stephan Reed

ICU recycled readers

Tips for Halloween Office Costumes

At Tonic we like to dress up for Halloween but deciding on an appropriate costume is sometimes a challenge.

Good choices for costumes include those that demonstrate your creativity, those that display a business-appropriate sense of humor, or those that show your talents in a favorable light.

For example, one good choice for a costume would be to use common items, like large rubber balls hooked together to make you look like a bunch of grapes or a Post It note man.

Do’s and Don’ts for office costumes:

Do wear a costume you office mates will appreciate.

Don’t forget you have to wear it for 8 long hours.

Do plan out a theme!

Don’t live out your secret fantasy at the office party.

Hope these Halloween tips help! : )

The Play-Doh Challenge

Did you know that September 18 is National Play-Doh Day? People have been innovating with Play-Doh since 1956, so the TONIC team decided to join in on the fun.

Check out our team’s creations:

Think you can build something even more innovative? Send us your Play-Doh creation photos at info@thinkTONIC.com and you could be featured on our blog!

Email Marketing: Does it Work?

With the prices of postage and printing rising, and the economy slowing, most companies are looking for ways to reduce marketing costs, or at least get more bang for their buck. One cost effective way to promote your product or service to prospective customers is through email marketing. But most people wonder if it actually works? With the loads of spam I receive every day, I wasn’t quite convinced, either.

So I asked myself and the rest of the Tonic team, have you ever actually made a purchase as a result of email marketing? The answer was surprising. Yes, every single one of us has. Of course I probably dump at least 95% of my spam, but there are a few emails I read each time that definitely convince me to make a purchase.

So I sought out to determine what it was about those emails that converted each of us into a paying customer.

The Headlines.
Here are the headlines of the emails we found compelling:
“Holt’s High Noon Special - 24 hour sale with free shipping every Tuesday & Thursday!”
“Coldplay - act now for presale ticket opportunity”
“Complete your iTunes album now for $6.00!”

Theme One.
Each email was from a company we had made a purchase from before. It’s surprising how many companies I come across that do not have a email mailing list set up. If I trust a company enough to make a purchase from them, many times I’d be interested in finding out about special promotions in the future, so I’d be more than happy to get on their mailing list.

Theme Two.
Each email was about a product we had each purchased before. If we were big enough suckers to buy it the first time, we’re probably big enough suckers to buy it again. And at half price? Sold!

Theme Three.
Yes, that’s right, at half the price. The cigar email offered a sale and free shipping. The iTunes email offered a discounted price on an album. Although the Coldplay email didn’t offer a discounted price, the intangible value is that the recipient gets to buy tickets before anyone else (what a true fan!).

Theme Four.
There is a time period in which to respond. Each offer was only available for a limited time, so we didn’t have time to stash it in our to-do folders.

Theme Five.
We really, really, really want what they have to offer. And how did they know that? Our guess is through solid research based on our past purchases. Without this important piece of the puzzle, direct email becomes, well, just junk mail.

The Takeaway.
The bottom line is, when used properly, email marketing can be very, very effective, and costs pennies to send. Even if it’s a simple monthly newsletter, ongoing communication with your customers can help build your relationship with them, keep your company at the front of their minds, and help position you as an expert in your industry. Tonic works with a best-in-class email marketing software that can help you develop a professional email marketing campaign, as well as providing you with detailed analytics for each element of your campaign. For more information, please email info@thinktonic.com.

Inspiration: Graffiti from Around the World

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Spotted! Tonic in San Francisco